BAU: Two-hundred people received cash and hampers from the Welfare Department under the ‘Sejambak Kasih Hari Raya Aidilfitri-Gawai Dayak 2019’ programme.

Each recipient was given RM100 cash and hamper worth RM50 from the department during an event held at Kampung Kaman, Krokong near here yesterday.

It is learnt that the recipients who were unable to attend the presentation yesterday would have the RM100 aid credited into their respective bank accounts.

In her keynote address, Minister of Welfare, Community Wellbeing, Women, Family and Childhood Development Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah said the objective of the ‘Sejambak Kasih’ programme was to ease the burden of the poor and needy folk.

“This programme also serves to bring joy and happiness to them in celebrating this coming Hari Gawai Dayak and Hari Raya Aidilfitri.”

Moreover, Fatimah assured all that the Welfare Department (JKM) of Sarawak had never been, nor would it ever be, choosy and biased against any particular race regarding the provision of welfare aid to the poor and needy.

“This is our way in Sarawak – the most important thing is that existing (monthly welfare aid) recipients under JKM are entitled to this RM100 cash,” she said.

According to the minister, from January to April this year, JKM Sarawak had allocated RM67,314,880 to 56,096 monthly aid recipients from all over Sarawak.

“Last year alone, we recorded as many as 58,038 needy individuals receiving the aid.”

Fatimah also took the opportunity to talk about the Endowment Fund Sarawak (EFS) initiative.

“Our Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg announced that a cash allocation of RM1,000 would be given to every child born in Sarawak (beginning Jan 1 this year), regardless ofreligion, race, or socio-economical status.

“The objective of EFS is to assist parents in the preparation for their children to further their studies, to kickstart their careers, or to serve as a small start-up fund to set up their businesses in the future.

“The EFS would be managed by Bank Islam and the withdrawal of the cash could only be done when the child has reached 18 years of age; in an event of a death, the family members could withdraw EFS to manage the funeral,” she said.

It is later learnt that the ‘Sejambak Kasih’ event yesterday was the second to be held this year – the first was conducted in Lawas.

It is also announced that the third event would take place in Simunjan.